Our trip was delayed by several days because of bad weather in Chicago, so instead of spending 6 days in Poland we were there for 3. This is NOT something the Avocados recommend. On the bright side, we were somehow able to score a free plane ticket to Seattle, giving us the chance to surprise my mom with a visit from the newlyweds while we waited for a flight to Poland. She screamed and cried when she saw us. :)
Then it was Monday morning, time to board the plane for a direct flight from Seattle to Frankfurt. Mr. Avocado and I were, in short, miserable. He had laryngitis or bronchitis (or something like it, we never did get it checked out by a doctor) and because the airline delayed my bags I was without them for 3 days, causing me to miss several doses of my birth control. Missing my birth control meant starting my period as we walked onto the plane. Yuck. Here we are in Germany, 20 hours into the trip.
It was wonderful to finally arrive at "home" after flying for so long. Mr. Avo's childhood home is very square, as are most of the buildings in this region of Poland.
In Poland, Christmas Eve is still a full work day for most people. We were able to visit a really huge Christmas market in the middle of the town square of Krakow. Whenever we travel, I have pictures of Mr. Avocado's leaving me behind (that is him with the backpack on) because I can't help stopping to take pictures all the time!
If Japanese English is "Engrish" what do you call Polish English?
We went to visit a nativity exhibit, where we were told under no certain terms that "insober persons" were not allowed!
The nativities from this particular region of Poland are very elaborate and colorful. We were so pleased when Mr. Avo's family surprised us with a miniature version of our very own!
I asked Mr. Avo and his friend Tetija to pose next to one of the larger ones so you could see just how large they are.
There were many strange characters present in this nativity scenes. A man that looked like he belongs to the KKK, a pretzel vendor, a chimney sweep, and my favorite, a bride and groom! I'm not sure what the significance of the dragon/butler on the right might be...
As soon as I saw this I thought "Oh what a lovely idea for winter wedding centerpieces!" I think I might try to make some for our home next year.
When we arrived home from Krakow we were greeted with the smell of dinner in the oven microwave. The entire meal was cooked with only a stovetop and a microwave, since both MILcado and her mother (Mr. Avo's parents live with Grandma Avocado) got rid of their ovens years ago!
For Mr. Avo's family (and I suspect throughout Poland) Christmas Eve is the night with a big family dinner and the opening of presents.
While we waited for dinner I taught SILcado the American tradition of decorating gingerbread men (store bought, unfortunately).
I was so excited to see that they had a Christmas tree up! Probably silly of me, but I didn't know if that was something they did in Poland.
All of their ornaments on the tree were very simple and pretty. I really love this cinnamon stick angel.
I was taking pictures of MILcado's Buddha collection when FILcado asked if I would like to see what he collects. He took me into his office and showed me a huge all of knives and swords! He has Japanese knives, Polish knives, German knives, and even some medieval Polish weapons.
Mr. Avocado told me about the Polish tradition of waiting to start the meal until the first star appeared in the sky. It seemed very romantic and magical to me, and I was picturing this wonderful moment where everyone would gather outside and wait to see the first star twinkle in the sky. The ground had been bare all day, so the snow that started falling in the evening was welcomed by all, but it meant that the sky was overcast, with no hope of spotting the first star. FILcado told me that the twinkle lights on the tree in their backyard would have to count as the star this year.
I was wandering around taking pictures in the living room when Mr. Avocado informed me that it was time to go get dressed for dinner. WHAT? Of course silly husband never mentioned anything about dressing up, so I was the only person at the dinner table not wearing red that night.
Before dinner we said a prayer, and FILcado read the Christmas story. Mr. Avocado whispered the translation in my ear since everything was in Polish! Then everyone was presented with a very thin wafer. We all went around to each person, giving them "wishes". It was hard for me at first, but luckily they let couples go together. Mr. Avocado gave wishes for us to those who didn't speak English, and I mostly did a lot of nodding and smiling. There was LOTS of kissing three times on the cheek, something I'm still not used to doing.
Here is Mr. Avocado exchanging wishes with his mom.
After wishing it was time to eat! I sat down to a bowl filled with delicious homemade croutons.
MILcado came around and poured everyone a portion of a delicious butter based broth. The secret to eating this broth is doing it as quickly as possible, since the croutons are best when they are crunchy. I learned this the hard way after wasting time taking pictures!
In Poland, at least in Mr. Avocado's family, they don't drink with their meals. They did serve a kind of fruit compote, but it just wasn't the same as a nice glass of water (or Martinellis!) for me.
The main course is fish, fish, and more fish. No meat is served for the Christmas meal, in accordance with Catholic tradition. A plain boiled potato (I dressed mine up with butter) and sauerkraut were served as sides. I liked the fish with the mushrooms the best.
Everyone above the age of 30 enjoyed this dish, although I didn't ever catch what it was called. It was served cold, in a type of gelatin, and since Mr. Avo didn't eat it I didn't feel bad in refusing it as well. :)
The Avocado's Christmas dinner photo.
Dessert had Mr. Avo so excited - Poppy seed cake! It consists of layers of moist bread (not sure what they soak it in) and a very moist poppy seed mixture, topped off with slivered almonds.
With all of that opium running through my system I was afraid I would pull a Coleridge, log on to WB and write you all some crazy messages about my adventures!
After dinner we moved upstairs for tea/coffee hour.
When the beverages were ready they brought out even more poppy seed dessert! This version was more like a coffee cake, much drier. The plate also held Polish cheesecake. The gingerbread cookies we decorated earlier were placed next to the Polish desserts, and everyone was really gracious in trying one and commenting on how yummy they were. I felt embarassed that they were store bought.
After about 1/2 hour of casual discussion, I was called upon to be the "Christmas angel" with SILcado. This involved passing out gifts to the names on the tag, an easy job for everyone except myself, since some of the names were spelled nothing like the way they sounded.
In Mr. Avo's family gifts are passed out and everyone opens them at will. To make things even more confusing, nothing was lableled "from" anyone, just "to" someone. So I have no idea where all of the lovely things I recieved came from. We were spoiled though, and receieved so many gifts we filled up an entire suitcase on the way home! My favorite was the WWII ring Mr. Avo received that once belonged to his Great-Uncle. The wedding band he received for the wedding is too large, so I'm trying to convince him to wear the family ring instead.
Mr. Avocado wants to structure our family Christmas the same way, opening gifts on Christmas Even instead of Christmas day. This allows the children to wear themselves out playing with their toys throughotu the night, while the parents get to sleep in on their day off of work. After experiencing it for myself I think it's a great idea!
Our gift to SILcado was the game "Othello", which turned out to be a hit! Mr. Avo and FILcado faced off in an intense game. Mr. Avo only lost by two (quite the feat considering that FILcado claims he once played Reversi on the computer and cleared the board with this color 10 times in a row!)
We ended the night with one more dessert, my favorite, one that Mr. Avo called "Krakow cake". I'm thinking of attempting to make it on my own. The only change I would make would be adding a little bit of cream cheese to the layers. Can you tell I missed my cream cheese filled Christmas dishes while we were in Poland? :)
The next day, and the day after are national holidays in Poland. Everyone takes the day off and spends time with family and friends. Mr. Avocado's family were all so wonderful, and frequently told me how much they loved me (it made me blush) and how grateful they were that we came. The language barrier wasn't as terrible as I anticipated, and they all laughed whenever I attempted to say "Good Evening" or "Thank You" in Polish. We arrived on the evening of the 23rd and it was so sad to get on the plane once again on the 27th. It's probably the last Christmas we will spend in Poland (unless we live there) and we are so grateful we were able to go!
Did you spend Christmas with your significant other's family? What new traditions did you experience over the holidays?
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